Oracle : "EU doesn’t understand open source"

Business software firm Oracle released a statement yesterday in an effort to
counter the European Commission's claim that Oracle's acquisition of Sun
Microsystems, and its open source database subsidiary MySQL, would reduce
competition in the open source sector.

Oracle was critical of the Commission’s knowledge about the database market
and open source software. “The Commission's statement of objection reveals a
profound misunderstanding of both database competition and open-source
dynamics,” said the statement.

The statement continued in the same vein: “It is well understood by those
knowledgeable about open-source software that because MySQL is open source, it
cannot be controlled by anyone. That is the whole point of open source.”

Sun paid nearly $1bn (£600m) for MySQL in 2008, with no problems from either
US or European authorities.

However, when Oracle bid $7.4bn (£4.5bn) for the troubled enterprise hardware
firm, the EU raised objections. It has said it will make a decision by January
2010.

Sun has been losing money since the EU investigation began. If the deal is
blocked and Oracle appeals, the acquisition process could be a long one, and
prove difficult for Sun's balance sheet and customers.

Oracle's statement also argues that the database market is competitive
enough, and that further consolidation in this market shouldn’t be subject to EC
rulings. “The database market is intensely competitive with at least eight
strong players, including IBM, Microsoft, Sybase and three distinct open-source
vendors. It added: "Oracle and MySQL offer very different database products.”

“There is no basis in European law for objecting to a merger of two of eight
firms selling differentiated products. Mergers like this occur regularly and
have not been prohibited by US or European regulators in decades,” added Oracle.

Oracle added: “Given the lack of any evidence of competitive harm, we are
confident we will ultimately obtain unconditional clearance of the transaction.
”

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